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Washington Evening Journal
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Washington, IA 52353
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Iowa Valley asks for band instruments
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
MARENGO — Iowa Valley music teachers Levi Cowan and Michelle Grant are accepting donations of used instruments to bolster a growing interest in band.
The music department hosted an instrument donation drive Nov. 5 and received a couple of donations even before that, said Cowan last week.
Any instruments are welcome, said Cowan, even if they aren’t playable. A clarinet donated earlier needs only about $100 in repairs to make it usable for a new Iowa Valley band student, he said.
Cowan said the department is looking for any wind or percussion instruments. He’d like to get an electric guitar for jazz band, which begins in January, he said.
“Any instrument we get. is a big victory for us.”
More than half of the students own their own instruments or are buying them on time from a music retailer, Cowan said.
Students who don’t have their own instruments sign agreements with the school giving them access to the instruments during the school year, said Cowan. Some students check them out during the summer, but the instruments are all returned when the students leave the music program.
New instruments, depending on the quality, can cost between $300 and $2,000, said Cowan.
“At the moment, our numbers have been growing,” said Cowan. “We never want to turn a student away because they can’t afford to rent from a company other than the school,” he said.
Iowa Valley has 57 band students in the high school and junior high and another 49 in fifth and sixth grades, Cowan said. “And we’re getting more students.”
Grant is planning to start a beginning band for older students who didn’t start playing in fifth grade, said Cowan. At least two students have signed up already, he said.
“It’s a fun activity, and it’s a good challenge for students,” said Cowan. As with athletics, band is a team activity. Students are drawn to competition, the aesthetics and the social aspect of band, Cowan said.
Cowan was optimistic about the success of the instrument donation program. Though he’s new to Marengo — coming to Iowa from Florida to take the Iowa Valley job this year — he’s learned something about the Marengo community. “People are pretty generous,” Cowan said.
Anyone who wants to donate but missed the instrument drive should email Tiger Beat at ivtigerbeat@gmail.com, Michelle Grant at mgrant@ivcsd.org or Levi Cowan at lcowan@ivcsd.org to arrange a time to drop off instruments.
